"1964 Thunderbolt: Ford's Ultimate Scare"
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- Discover the 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt, a legendary muscle car that dominated the NHRA Super Stock racing circuit. With a 427 cubic-inch V8 engine and lightweight design, this rare car redefined performance. Join us as we explore why the Thunderbolt remains an icon in automotive history.
.
Fair Use Disclaimer
This video may contain copyrighted material not owned by the creator. The use of such material is protected under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, which allows for "fair use" in contexts such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. This means that certain copyrighted content can be used without the explicit permission of the copyright owner, provided it meets the criteria for fair use.
If you are the copyright owner of any content in this video and have concerns about its use, please contact me at lostautostory@gmail.com . I will work with you to ensure proper credit or remove the content if necessary.
.
#ford #fordfairlane #thunderbolt #musclecar #vintagecars #classiccars #americanmuscle #1964ford #v8engine #superstock #dragstrip #racinghistory #carenthusiast #raremusclecars #carcollector #automotivehistory #fordperformance #chevyscare #dragcar #hotrod #lightweightdesign #carculture #fiberglass #carsofinstagram #fastcars and - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Back when you could tell one car from another.
So true 👀👍
The reason all car look the is pedestrian strike they have to meet,I agree with on spotting cars I can year make of car at drop of hat.Now at night you can identify cars by headlights and taillights
@@raceflagsfunny thing is new trucks are deadlier due to the raised hoodlines
YEAH HAD CHROME BUMPERS, new shows me nothing,i'll take the past for cars
Right🤠👍🎉
Those were the days
I miss the hell out of them
I’m 67yrs now and when I was a kid the school janitor had one of these in black with red in with the chrome. I remember the sound of that car to this day.
Maybe a clone? The real deal T-bolts couldn't be licensed for the street. I had a factory, '67 Fairlane, 427 w/dual 4's & 4 speed. It came with a title & it couldn't be licensed for street.
Ford only CLAIMED it was 425hp,
It was actually closer to 550.
Ford, Dodge and Chevy were in a hotly contested war in the NHRA back in the early to mid 1960s, and were producing factory prepped Super Stock cars that had what was then MONSTER engines.
They basically were what is referred
today as a COPO (Central Office
Purchase Order) car. These truly
special cars were only sold to a very select few, and just as today.could not be licensed to be driven on the street.
Fast cars, great times.
You could license them. Copo was GM only
@@user-yo3sz8xe2s Thanks for the correction.
To have had one of these beasts on the street with no identifying badges would’ve made it a trippy sleeper.
But that big blister in the hood would be a dead giveaway.
The parts were available over the counter. My '70 Z-28 Camaro was rebuilt with the special heads, Service cam, Edlebrock hi-rise, Holley double pumper, Hooker Headers and was balanced and blue-printed with the Corvette high compression pistons(special order). Block was bored .6000 overbored. Never had it Dyno-ed but Mustang 500GTs, any Buick/Olds muscle car and any Mopar not done up like my Z-28 were toast in 1/4 mile. Those were the days! 😂😊
@@georgeingols8023 sounds like a good build. Was it a small block or big block? Heads & cams have come a long ways since 1970. Chevy actually made a small block hemi head. I'm not sure how much they used them but they were probably good for road racing.
@@georgeingols8023 what block can you bore over half an inch? 0.060" maybe?
I seen one of these , absolute monster.
A school friend's older brother owned a Thunderbolt. According to him, you could opt for various cam shafts and compression ratio.
The Thunderbolts came with hi riser heads and intake manifold and made over 100 hp MORE than 425. An old Ford racer still has his today and with a much better drag racing rear suspension and a Lenco racing trans and clutch regularly runs low 8's with it. That's low 8's naturally aspirated........
True the highriser headed much more power.
Yep.my father has 3 cars with a cammer .but the FX car we thought was 525hp. It dyno'ed at 566hp on totally stock factory motor. The other 427 Sohc are both 433hp and 442hp
The very first one,was a 63 fairlane. Built by Mickey Thompson
Having been a Ford in Mopar man my entire life I can confirm that it seems to have been a consistent thing especially from the early '60s on where Ford had a habit of underestimating their horsepower while Chevy's habit was to overestimate, This awesome beast actually came closer to 550 horsepower which was huge for 64.
Ford had more engine deemed illegal than any other manufacturers, every time Ford answer the call on Dodge or Chev that's why Ford got out of racing till about 10 years ago
They learned that from Carrol Shelby for insurance purposes
No bias here
@@raceflags what Ford never got out of racing, did you lose consciousness for a while?
My first car was a Ford Fairlane, that the previous owner changed the auto to a 4 SPEED HURST...........🎉
My first was a '63 Sport Coupe.
That was over 50 years ago. I still dream about it occasionally.
Hurst is the shifter brand
@@twinkie27271yes the stock linkage was bad beyond bad.
One bad-azz car!
What a beauty. That my friends is a muscle car.
Beautiful car
That was one really awesome car , heavy duty beast
Virtually all the manufacturers were building some serious machines back then....all of them produced more power than what was advertised, they used lightweight components, acid-dipped the bodies, thinner glass, etc. Whatever it took to save weight.
Those old cars were so cool - even if today you can buy a basic V8 Mustang that will outrun it. I hope those old race cars keep their deserved place in museums and history.
No basic Mustang runs in the mid 11's in the quarter....
Don't forget mythology
My grandpa had a 1962 Ford Thunderbird, that baby would lay a scratch until you let off the throttle😮 I think it had a 390 in it, he only let me drive it once😊
One of the other differences between the Thunderbolt was the relocation of the axle toward the front to improve weight transfer.
Funny car technology 🤠
Are you sure? I didn't think the thunder bolts were altered wheel base cars. They don't look like it. The wheel base looks stock. On the old dodge cars it's definitely noticable.
You are correct ,,, thunderbolts are all stock wheelbase
That 427 made over 500hp. Crazy for the early 60s
Lol the car run 0 too 60 in 5.5 seconds not even close too 500hp
You know that tires and suspensions weren’t what they are today, the top class cars were maybe good for 7.5 seconds on the quarter back in ‘64 .
They didn't because of suspension believe me the 427 made over 500 hp as well as the 426 hemi.
Beautiful classic love it ❤❤❤❤
According to the rules, 100 was All they needed.
Had that model. .wish I hadn't ever gotten rid of it
😮 sad times bru!! Shoulda kept er..
My second car when I was a teenager was the 1964 Ford Fairlane 500. Paid $150 for it.
My jag has 585 horse power. I enjoy driving it occasionally. However, when I watch these videos it makes me remind myself that the handling and brakes, etc. weren't what they are today, amazing.
Nice
In love, tear drop hood!
Funny he says im not sure about Dodge. Gawd dodge is the king of going in a straight line.
100%
Let's not forget Dyno Don Nicholson running Pro Stock in a Thunderbolt. Gave the Chevy and Chrysler and Dodge folks all they wanted and then some!
NO such animal! Nicholson NEVER drove a Thunderbolt. "Dyno Don" was a lifelong Mercury lover!
425 in dog. Year's
No! Dyno Don Nicholson was a freshly signed former Chevy guy .
Pro Stock started in 1970
Al Midon
We”re talking bout factory-owned teams in NHRA here. That competition was largely between Ford and Mopar. Chevy stayed out of that investment because the physics of drag racing were self evident and there was nothing new to be learned that would be enhance the performance of their streetable (sellable) cars in the dealership network. It’s about return on investment folks. $$$$$$$$$
No Pro Stocks in the '60's. The class wasn't formed until the '70's.
I'm a Chevy man but that Ford looks awesome
😮 Absolutely one of my top 5 favorite cars. I didn't know only a 100 or produced. I guess I've seen a lot of replicas from the drag strips in the South to the hills of West Virginia car shows. I have seen 6 my Uncle 66 fairlane. High tens low elevens in a quarter she's beautiful too
I had a 66 Fairlane. It had the 390 4 speed. It was rated at 335 bhp. At best it was a 12.5 second car from the factory.
@@corbetcochran570012.5 out of the factory is very fast.
Special lightweight body parts a massive 427 block hard to drive across town to go 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and now we have the new Challenger Demon Hellcat with air stereo etc with 0-60 in 1.6 seconds. Life is good! ;
unless u are taking to race what does a perso do with all that power RT is fast one stop light to next when sitting in traffic heater and air conditioning more important
My buddy had one of those stripped drag cars , he had a61’ Chevy with a duel quad 409
Very few mere mortals mastered the art of steering this in a straight line !
She's incredibly beautiful.
Don't forget the Chrysler Hemi
How about the 1963 chevy Pontiac Catalina, chevy had to pull it off drag stripes, easy beat every other stock vehicles by a long shot, they drilled holes in the frame that dropped the weight, a 421 with 405 horsepower, in 1963 it changed the game the experts say
I don’t know why Chevy would have any authority to “pull a Pontiac” from the drag strip. They were entirely separate divisions of GM. I did read some years ago that Chevrolet engineering was not interested in a factory-backed drag racing program because they had sufficiently studied the kinetics of drag racing and did not think there were any real benefits from the results to benefit further insight into development of a street able performance car; therefore they focused on achieving full road performance for the Corvette and Camaro Z/28.
Of course Chevy continued to support INDEPENDENT drag teams with customer access to high performance engines and parts; folks like the legendary Bill (Grumpy) Jenkins who was also a formidable competitor on the drag strip. I think Chevy saw the little guy weekend warrior as a better market for their marketing and profitability than investing heavily into a factory drag team.
Agree, it seems like they liked road course racing the best, but the hemi 426 came out and that changed the game, but hard to beat the 1969 corvette zL1 with all aluminum 427 engine putting out 575 or more horsepower. Quarter mile time, 10.60 seconds at 132 mph with headers, standard was 12.1 second at 116 mph, could any production car beat it. It was very lite in weight.
@michaelwaters8879
I've never seen one of these in person............but my dad had a 63 Fairlane with a 260 in it and it seemed to fill the engine bay a bit...........I've seen 64 Falcon with 351 and that's a really tight fit.............hard to say what they did to make the 427 SOHC motor fit
I saw a Thunderbolt at the dragstrip north of Ardmore, Ok... This old man & his car were always in the money running brackets!! Also did a great job at the nostalgia drags later that year!!
This when the y-blocks and standard v8s were being developed to be workhorse power plants. Crazy that they also built a big block like this in them days!
My brother in law, may he rest in peace, passed away a few years ago, but he left this car for his son, it is completely original and looks like it just came out of the factory, my nephew doesn't drive it but on special occasions, car shows and parades and things like that. It is one of the finest cars that I have ever seen
Im a Chevy guy,But love those Thunderbolts,,,just beautiful and badass,learned a few things today to,,had no idea of the difference between a Thunderbolt and a reg Fairlane
Im not normally a ford fan, but 😮😮😮
We had the Ramcharger in 1964.
As a GM guy this is one of 3 fords id own.
Been clocked standard, between 616, and 660hp. 425 might of been a chocked down version of the SOHC motor.
They weren’t the sohc 427, and that hp rating was just the advertised hp, they were In reality far beyond that. There’s one here locally that’s been here since brand new. Awesome automobile!
Awesome cars
I am a Ford man. My dream car has always been the 67 Shelby Mustang, but after seeing this video I love it this car has just jumped into the number 1 spot the 64 Fairlane thunderbolt is now my dream car awesome style and power ❤
Beast
Back when 5 seconds 0 to 60 was veryfast...
Now my daily driver does it 4 1/2..second handles like a dream..
But I’d still give my left nut to have that
Fabulous car and still a challenge to some of todays cars!
out performing everying from Europe, BRILLIANT, ENGINEERING, WONDERFUL TO UNDERSTAND,AND EASY TO WORK ON.
Yes, and did it Without metriq jibberish measurements!!!
“No one can outrun my SS396”, a paper record from a magazine with that song I remember from my childhood.
My dad had a Ford Galaxy, put a 390 w/a three speed on the floor, and turned it into a race car,that car was awesome
Those are some strong engines, all of the big companies had great engines back then nice cars
Beautiful car! Top shelf!!
My best friend in high school had a '64 Fairlane. He got it for $50. It was a six banger, but he put a 11 to 1 289 in it and a four speed from a wrecked '66 Mustang.
That's a Beautiful car
Now that's a beautiful car I don't know how many they produced that year but that's a beautiful car no matter what year it is now
25 years ago I drove one and it definitely was a beast.
Got a 427ci Windsor in my Foxbody Mustang...I love that Windsor
I built one of those for my brother's first car. I used a Mustang GT 302 engine. It was not a Thunderbolt, but it was a 1964 Ford Fairlane.
Sweet! ♥️👍👍♥️
I'm so sick of being mocked for being a Ford man this is all the profe I need Ford is on top when it counts
I'm not a Ford guy but this is my favorite of em all
😮
What an awesome car
That's 30 hp. More than my hemi in my truck! Impressive hp.!
Chevy had nothing for Superstock in '64. Thanks to the AMA ban on manufacturer involvement in motorsports that GM top execs followed, shutting down programs like the GS Vette. But Mopar and Ford were not so foolish and pursued motorsports as a marketing tool and to advance technology to make cars better.
The top cars at the time in Superstock were Ford Thunderbolt and its Mercury Comet Caliente twin vs the Mopar twin Max Wedges of Dodge and Plymouth.
My older brother owned a 64 Plymouth Max Wedge in 67/68. It ran, as straight from the factory, 11.20s at high 120s speeds. Thunderbolts and Calientes were the same. By '68, wider much advanced tires on wider rims on the newer cars with essentially the same engines and chassis allowed times to drop into the low to mid 10s and speeds up into the 130s.
One of my dream cars
From a non- Ford guy, this car was IT.
Great Car. Love It.
That Z11 63 Impala was a badassed car too.
The 1964 Ford Thunderbolt was for real.
Only ever had one line up for me drop tree. I was stoked
Love it just love it that's when they made real cars and it's sad I sure miss them 😢
That is a great car 🚗
Wow sweet
Love that. Ford. It. One. Bad. Car. 😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
That is AWESOME 💪🏾🇺🇲
Wow for 1964 5.5 seconds 425 hp that's amazing
This was a real beast, that difference between Paul Martin Decatur Ga 30035
Sweet, we had a 427 shc drop it in a 1970 Mustang GT A.
The Thunderbirds bolts were really cool but you forgot to mention about the front bumper was aluminum😊
Beautiful 😍 🤩 👌
Ford having a dyno as early as they had it made a huge difference.
Sweet ride
Got a 64 now.... Had one in High School.
My uncle in New Mexico owns a white one! It's absolutely perfect and very rare. Not many left.
King of the road! 😊
I love it.
Bad ass Detroit muscle for sure!
Love it🔥 It's The Torino's GT SCJ 429 little brother
I saw a Mickey Thompson HEMI Thunderbolt at a high end classic car show and auction. This was quite a few years ago.
Awesome
I like it 🔥✌️
Sweet looking car, from hot wheels, I have 3 of them and a 1/24th scale model
Damn nice cars wow
I never stick around when I hear this voice
Big car grunts and goes, smaller car shreds tires.
Yo I was working on that at my shop at school
Don’t forget about bumpers was lightened. It was a torque monster with track shoes
I can't believe there's people out here in the world that want an electric car. It's a shame and an insult to these type of cars
That car was fast even today pretty fast